What Is Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT)?
Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) is a distributed computing algorithm that allows for the continued operation of a system even when some components fail or behave unpredictably. It was developed to address the problem of Byzantine Generals, which describes how multiple generals must agree on an action while communicating over unreliable channels and potentially facing malicious actors. BFT works by having each component in the system maintain its own state and communicate with other components through messages. If any message fails to reach its destination, it will be re-sent until all nodes have received it. This ensures that all nodes are kept up-to-date with the same information, allowing them to make decisions based on consensus rather than relying on one node’s opinion alone.
In addition to providing fault tolerance, BFT also provides security against malicious attacks such as Sybil attacks or double spending attempts in cryptocurrency networks like Bitcoin and Ethereum. By requiring multiple signatures from different participants before executing a transaction, BFT can ensure that no single actor has control over the network’s resources or data. As more applications move towards decentralization and distributed systems become increasingly popular, Byzantine Fault Tolerance is becoming an important tool for ensuring reliability and security across these networks.